In his opening keynote at the 15th annual WinHEC, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced that in the first 100 days 40 million copies of Windows Vista have been sold. According to Gates, this is more than twice the amount that Windows XP sold in its first 100 days. Gates also went on to say that Vista has already matched the installed base of any other operating system provider.

JOEL'S OPINION
Can this number really be true? I guess when you consider how pretty much any new PC is shipping with Vista pre-installed, it's not that hard to get to 40 million.

I've been running Vista since beta and am now running the official release version on a pretty sweet box. I've had my troubles and most recently had Windows Update automatically install something that welcomed me with a Blue Screen this morning. A quick System Restore, though, and it's been great ever since.

Of course, my experience alone makes me wonder how many users would RETURN Vista if they could and go back to XP.

USER COMMENTS 21 comment(s)

But……(1:05pm EST Wed May 16 2007)I wonder how many were like me and got a new computer with Vista, discovered that hardly any of the software I needed to run would work on Vista, format C:, install Windows XP Pro, install and run the software that I need to do my job.

I have the Vista recovery CD that came with the machine, but it is in a box and not doing anything. - by cynic

Vista…(1:13pm EST Wed May 16 2007)I have been running Vista Home Premium for a few months now. No problems, no incompatabilities, and it runs visibly faster than XP.

The software I use ranges from scientific and mathematical thru office (2003) as well as third-part packages such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Opera, TrueCrypt, SciLab, etc. Only Zone Alarm doesn't run which is cleary stated on the Zone Alarm web site.

I have been very happy with Vista.- by tjack

OK, but how many Vista users?(1:21pm EST Wed May 16 2007)Doesn't MS show a sale when it's shipped to an OEM? Would seem reasonable to me.

I'm curious how their sales correlate to current Vista users and how many retail boxes have been sold.

General “chatter” and several recent Microsoft actions have implied that Vista hasn't been well received. If true, what's the implications for the future? - by Marketman

Even if(1:43pm EST Wed May 16 2007)this number were true, and not merely, say, the number shipped. Even if this was for all pre-installs sold.

What happened to upgrade buyers? It would seem that no one is upgrading from XP to Vista (well very few). 40 million is a nice number until you look at the total number of PCs sold, and reflect that most of them come with Vista whether you like it or not.

Then you suddenly realize that there is almost zero consumer take up of Vista for existing PCs. There's a reason, or reasons for this.

a) harsh hardware requirementb) $200 for the latest graphical widgets? I can go download any number of themes and icons at my convenience, Nvidia Xp drivers for Geforce 7×00 and better include transparency effects for free, so why am I upgrading to Vista again?c) DRM – face it, NO ONE wants or likes DRM, and Vista is riddled with the stuff. It even voluntarily gimps itself if it feels that you are not properly licensed for HD output. No offense to MS, but who the hell made you God? It's my bloody computer and If I want to watch an HD movie or listen to MP3s I will, whether or not some jumped up GUI thinks I should. It's not Windows or Microsoft's place to automatically judge whether what I am doing is appropriate or legal. d) Nvidia drivers for Vista are not yet stable.e) DirectX 10 games are few and far between.f) Direct X 10 support on XP is only a matter of time.g) UAC. You don't need to hijack my computer in order to make it secure. I own it. Nothing you do should prevent me, the owner, from using, configuring or administering my computer as I see fit. If you and your OS can't cope with that concept I suggest you evolve or die.

Seriously, MS hit a sweet spot with Windows 2000, improvements in reliability and GUI for XP make a kind of resting place for users who don't want to continually upgrade/update.

Vista has accomplished something though, something unique. It's made a lot of IT geeks think favorably of XP. Something which was formerly unthinkable. Of course it's made those geeks and many others think more favorably of Linux also. Something of an own goal there.- by highlandcynic

I agree.(1:45pm EST Wed May 16 2007)My computer came with Vista Home Premium and I had to make my own recovery DVDs. However, as soon as I did, Vista was wiped out, and alternate operating systems were installed. - by linuxnub

LOL!(1:45pm EST Wed May 16 2007)>>> General “chatter” and several recent Microsoft actions have implied that Vista hasn't been well received. If true, what's the implications for the future?

General “chatter” and several recent Geek.com actions have implied that these forums are being moderated by aliens from the planet Zweeghk. If true, what are the implications for the future?

Discussing the future ramifications of imagined situations found as “chatter” on the ultra-reliable web (!) is a silly waste of time.

- by tjack

Well…(1:54pm EST Wed May 16 2007)>>> a) harsh hardware requirement

I spent $100 for a new graphics card on my desktop machine. Wow, really harsh.

>>> $200 for the latest graphical widgets? I can go download any number of themes and icons at my convenience, Nvidia Xp drivers for Geforce 7×00 and better include transparency effects for free, so why am I upgrading to Vista again?

Vista is a lot more than the stupid eye candy.

>>> DRM – face it, NO ONE wants or likes DRM, and Vista is riddled with the stuff. It even voluntarily gimps itself if it feels that you are not properly licensed for HD output. No offense to MS, but who the hell made you God? It's my bloody computer and If I want to watch an HD movie or listen to MP3s I will, whether or not some jumped up GUI thinks I should. It's not Windows or Microsoft's place to automatically judge whether what I am doing is appropriate or legal.

Uh.. MS doesn't demand DRM, the owners of the copyrighted materials require it. You know, just like iTunes… Blame the correct people rather than just integrating it with your irrational blanket “I hate Microsoft” diatribe.

>>> Nvidia drivers for Vista are not yet stable.

Yell at Nvidia to get off their lazy rumps.

>>> DirectX 10 games are few and far between. Direct X 10 support on XP is only a matter of time.

Then, don't use Direct 10 games.

>>> UAC. You don't need to hijack my computer in order to make it secure. I own it. Nothing you do should prevent me, the owner, from using, configuring or administering my computer as I see fit.

No one is doing that. So, under UNIX and Linux you always log in as superuser? That sure is cool. This is a feature that is a long time in coming. Vista has NEVER stopped me from installing anything I want. Of course, if Windows is all you use you will certainly be confused.

- by tjack

UAC(1:59pm EST Wed May 16 2007)I shut off UAC as soon as I installed Vista. It's there for the newbies, more than anything. Everytime I reboot my computer it reminds me that I shut off UAC–thanks but I know that. :-) - by joelgeek

why(2:11pm EST Wed May 16 2007)Are people so desperate to prove Vista is failing? Face it, with preinstalls, upgrades and the eventual lack of support for older OS's, we will be living in a Vista world eventually. Whether it takes 1, 2, 3 years or whatever it is inevitable and MS will make a boatload of cash off of it. Those of you griping about this feature or that feature or this bug or that bug just look like a bunch of whiners with nothing better to do than complain. - by elbarto79

re: elbarto(2:41pm EST Wed May 16 2007)Yeah, kind of like 7 years ago we were all living in an “ME world”..right?

Vista…Windows ME generation 2. - by Baibbas

No Vista here(3:07pm EST Wed May 16 2007)elbarto, people are trying to prove Vista isn't selling as well as MS claims because there are several concerns (most valid, some not) about the desirability of Vista. Sure, MS will eventually stop supporting XP. I don't blame them, actually. I would, however, like to see them give us something worth the price of an upgrade.

Sure, most consumers will get it pre-installed on a new PC, so that's almost an automatic 'sale' of Vista since the big OEMs have denied consumers the option of XP. But, as mentioned, the users that represent a more true measure of the rate of adoption are the upgraders and business customers.

From what I've seen and read, there are VERY few people buying upgrades. Part of this is, I'm sure the high price of upgrades, but part of it is the lack of (real or perceived) need for Vista.

Most businesses have been bitten too many times with problems and incompatibilities with past rollouts of Windows, so I doubt there's a big move to Vista in the business world. Again, there's really no business ADVANTAGE that Vista holds over XP or even 2000.

I would not be surprised at all if this 40 million includes customers with Software Assurance. It also probably doesn't include PCs with Vista licenses that were rolled back to XP.

This whole announcement smells of the typical “keep up the stock price” marketing garbage-speak we see these days. - by Jarink

Nice numbers(3:43pm EST Wed May 16 2007)I wonder why they haven't released the sales numbers for the same time frame for all of the versions of XP available? I'm betting on a big increase of XP sales since Vista was released. I work in a repair shop and have at least 1-2 people a week bring in new systems to have Vista removed and XP installed.

I'm gonna stick with calling Vista, ME 2.0. - by TheCarnifex

most companies do not have it yet(5:07pm EST Wed May 16 2007)Most software and related corporations have not invested in Vista yet. (Heck, some haven't even gone to XP) So, it will be buggy until that happens. My guess is 4 years before decent products come on the market: one year for a budget to add it for some profit objective, one year of roll out to developers, and two years of development and test. Basically, it's not important to upgrade the OS right now. The same thing can be said about changing to some distro of Linux.- by dskowTX

Can't comment(5:31pm EST Wed May 16 2007)I'd love to comment on what I think of Vista, but I've yet to upgrade and don't actually know anyone else who has.

I do know of several people who have replace there new vista pc's with xp though. - by drac

tjack(5:36pm EST Wed May 16 2007)Most people cannot simply do a $100 video card upgrade to run vista, many, many people need more memory and a bigger HDD, as well as the video card. Even then the steep memory use of Vista, on it's own, causes problems for slower computers with modest amounts of memory. Just because you can upgrade with a simple card swap does not mean everyone can.

Regarding DRM. Microsoft is big enough and powerful enough and close enough to the problem, to have been part of the solution. this myth that MS had to do it, and it's all those nasty music and movie companies fault is a total lie. Microsoft was going down the DRM route hell for leather along with Intel. Remember 'trusted computing'?

UAC – gimped user account by default. Yes you can disable it, not that easily however, it tries to come back. Sure you shouldn't typically log on to a Linux or Unix box as supervisor, but then again I don't HAVE to do so in order to do the things I need to do. So much of what people do with windows, is predicated by the requirement to have essentially admin access. So You have a system that essentially requires you to be an admin to have reasonable functionality, and then you gimp it with UAC. Smart.

- by highlandcynic

Lies, damned lies and…(5:37pm EST Wed May 16 2007)From what I've read, the numbers include OEM sales which means many licences not out in the wild yet.

Been using 64bit Vista beta for a while.There is the big issue – having a lot of compatibility problems due to the 64bit aspect with many 32bit apps.

Microsoft should've release 64bit only – taking full advantage of current hardware, minimising their development/support costs, as well as for their partners.

15 years since 64bit Alpha released. Windows 2000 (aka NT5) was developed initially on Alpha (or so I was told by a DEccie). Where did it all go Pear shaped?… - by oss

Elbarto(5:45pm EST Wed May 16 2007)No one is desperate to prove Vista is failing, Vista is proving that for the market day after day.

What I am more interested in is why folks like you and Tjack are apparently so desperate to prove Vista is the best thing since sliced bread. And to prove wrong anyone who expresses negativity regarding Vista. It's almost as if there was a vistad interest at work.

Strangely enough ElBarto, I live in a vista free world right now, and plan to keep it that way. If I have to run XP into the ground and switch to Linux, I will. I don't see it as inevitable that everyone *must* use Vista in the end. If that is so, then what a frickin' sad lot we've become that we cannot stray from suckling at Microsoft's….well you get the picture.

Done rantin'. - by highlandcynic

does that include The $3 Vista Starter Edition (8:14pm EST Wed May 16 2007)for third world counties? probably so. - by norton

ummm(8:29am EST Thu May 17 2007)I admit at first I was very skeptical of Vista and in fact refused to buy it. So I did NOT buy it. But I did get the premium version for my BD. I thought well I have it , I might as well try it out. Worst case senerio is i dont like it or have so much issues that I just have to go back to XP. Well to my surprise after installing it which was very fast actually, way faster then i remeber when upgrading to XP. I selected the custom and did not opt to upgrade . I wiped everythign out and put vista on a clean fresh system, not carrying over any settings or anythign from XP. It was smooth as butter and when looking more into the OS, i quite liek it. Sure yes they did copy apple in many wasy but there are still some distinctions. I have a 3 year old printer that installed no problem. Vista detected it and smooth as butter. I am playing all of my older games …NO problem. It is a lot faster then XP in many senerios because i have a pretty powerful system that meets all of the requirements. So, I have to say at this point vista is a pleasent surprise. - by Alan

So those with MCE 2005 Edition(5:59pm EST Thu May 17 2007)why should they upgrade?

With the free software that Microsoft offer to update XP MCE2005 and that of other free software on the web, what would warrant these users to upgrade to Vista Home Premium?

I can't see a reason to make that payment yet and the longer they hold out the better patched Vista will be when they finally swap over if they decide to, plus with Microsoft releasing a SP3 for XP with some of Vista's capabilities another reason to wait. - by A_Brit

Brit(10:40pm EST Thu May 17 2007)Beofre installing vista on my machien i agreed with you . But after seeign the differences in the Media centre in vista compared to xp, well it is much better and much nicer with several new features, so i do not agree with that anymore. - by Alan